The Board of Supervisors (BOS) unanimously supported District 4 Supervisor Anthony Farrington's proposal to appropriate $350,000 for lake programs for the remainder of the 2012-13 budget year.

With Measure E, a Clear Lake-specific sales-tax proposal, failing last fall, the county is left trying to find ongoing funding sources for activities to address issues such as weeds, algae and invasive species.

"Of the programs that we're running and biggest return for investment, I think our aquatic weed program is the winner," Water Resources Director Scott De Leon told the BOS Tuesday morning at the Lake County Courthouse.

The $350,000 represented a $157,000 increase of funding specifically available for lake activities this year.

Farrington said he wanted at least $330,000 to go directly toward abating nuisance weeds and allow staff flexibility to apply the remainder to efforts including personnel costs for algae abatement.

The supervisors will discuss the budgetary moves necessary to allocate the increased funds at a later date.

The BOS also supported sending letters to the cities of Clearlake and Lakeport asking them to contribute undetermined amounts to the county's lake-improvement programs.

In other business, the supervisors briefly discussed the status of the Lucerne Alpine Senior Center.

The Area Agency on Aging recently terminated its nutrition-services contract with the senior center because of alleged food-safety violations -- a decision center officials plan to appeal.

The county has a $4,400 agreement with the center's operator, Lucerne Alpine Seniors, Inc., for health-related senior services, and county staff recommended continuing that contract until it expires June 30.

The BOS took no action on the agreement, thereby leaving its terms in place.

The supervisors delayed deciding on the re-establishment of the Geothermal Advisory Committee, which reportedly hasn't met in more than six years.

Re-forming the committee was part of the settlement the county reached with the nonprofit group Friends of Cobb Mountain last May in the lawsuit over the Bottle Rock Power, LLC, expansion project.

County officials approached the BOS Tuesday asking for guidance on how to organize the committee, but the supervisors chose to give staff two more weeks to hash out the membership proposal.

Later, the BOS voted to add another member-at-large position to the Geothermal Impact Mitigation Fund Cobb Valley Committee.

Joining the national firearm debate, the supervisors passed a resolution "in support of the reduction of senseless gun violence in the United States."

In the document, they encouraged legislators at all levels to enforce existing laws and supported greater consequences for crimes committed with firearms.

They also called for mental-health and education professionals to inform the public about gun violence in schools and other safety concerns.

The BOS directed county staff to reach out to state officials for a meeting to resolve issues with the Edmands Reclamation District (RD 2070) in Upper Lake.

County staff is concerned about flooding conditions for the handful of properties still inhabited in the area. Additionally, the district board has only one active member.

The county might inherit responsibility for running RD 2070 and the floodwater pumping station there because it could soon become the majority property owner within the district, De Leon said.

"It's been known for years that we're buying up this property because we know there's a problem out there," BOS Chair Jeff Smith said. "The major plan for this was to reclaim this property and to use it as it should be, as a wetland."

The supervisors also directed staff to alert the county's state representatives about the RD 2070 issues.

Special Districts Administrator Mark Dellinger was given permission to negotiate with Clearlake Lava, Inc., for work on the Spring Valley Lake recovery project.

The supervisors adopted an ordinance establishing rules for the issuance of marina-berthing licenses in Lake County.

The BOS passed two extra items at the outset of the meeting.

The first authorized a Lake County Sheriff's Office deputy to travel to New Mexico for an active shooter threat instructor course next week. The second approved contract documents for telecommunication services at county libraries.

Jeremy Walsh is a staff reporter for Lake County Publishing. Reach him at 263-5636, ext. 37 or jwalsh@record-bee.com. Follow coverage on Twitter, @JeremyDWalsh or #LakeBOS.